How-To: Firmware Upgrade Your Nokia N80 to N80ie

It took me a good long time getting the firmware update on my stock Nokia N80 phone. Hopefully this will help those poor, pitiful people who are having trouble getting up to speed to the N80 Internet Edition.

This tutorial should also apply to other Nseries phones such as the N93 but I have not tested the method on these devices so try them at your own risk!

First, a word about the N80 Internet Edition. Nokia has stated that the N80ie is exactly the same hardware as the “normal” N80 – which means the changes are purely in the firmware and the extra software that’s included. Not only that, but a regular firmware update on a stock N80 will produce an N80ie!

Basically, a little rundown of what you’ll get with the Internet Edition:

VoIP/SIP support (lets you make calls over WLAN)

better WLAN support

several new internet applications (Search, Download!, Lifeblog)

some bug fixes

If you’ve decided that it’s worth the effort to upgrade, then let’s begin.

Do you already have a Nokia N80 Internet Edition? Check to see if you have an Internet folder, or the Internet Tel./Search/Download!/Lifeblog applications already installed, if you do, then you already have an N80ie. You can still skip to step 3 to update your firmware, though.

Step 1

You need to determine whether you have a branded or unbranded N80. This means that if you got your N80 from a phone carrier or provider then you’ll need to change the Product Code of the phone to something else – this is due to the fact that the official Nokia updater program does not allow you to update the firmware if it detects a branded N80. Also, if you’d like to change the region of your phone to something else – say, from Europe to APAC, keep following Step 2. Otherwise, If your phone isn’t branded and you do not want to change the region, go to Step 3.

Step 2: Turning Your Branded N80 into an Unbranded One

One piece of software that you’ll need is Nemesis Service Suite, better known as NSS. This software was made for certain professional unlocking/flashing boxes, but you can use a simple USB cable also. The download link’s above there somewhere.

Install NSS. Very straightforward installation, just be on the lookout for two things: first, answer “Virtual USB Device” when the install program asks you what services you’ll be using after installation. Next, answer ‘NO’ when asked if you want to install virtual USB drivers.

Plug in your USB cable into your N80 and select PC Suite mode.

Run the program. You’ll see two main icons in the top right corner. Click the top/right-most one:

The program will hum for a bit, and then spit out some jargon about Testing Interfaces and Testing Directories. Ignore this. Click the Phone Info tab that will appear on the top. Now you’ll need to click the Read button under the “Production Data Edit” section.

The status bar on the bottom will display “Reading values…” Now this is the critical point. If everything went well, you’ll see several values filled into the Product Data Edit fields. If you received an “Error!” message, check out the troubleshooting section (to be added at a future date, like tomorrow).

I’ll assume that if you got to this point, there should be a number in the “Product Code:” field. The product code is different for each region, so you need to select the region that you want to convert your N80 firmware to. The choice of region will also affect included languages – if you need support for Chinese characters, for example, choose one of the APAC regions like Hong Kong or Taiwan. Below is the list of Product Codes for each region, and the type of N80 (metallic silver or pearl black). As far as I know the color type has no effect on anything.

A warning here: once you’ve selected a Product Code and updated the firmware, you won’t be able to change it until a newer firmware arrives.

Be sure to copy down the Product Code that’s already filled in the field. This is just in case something goes wrong. Once you’ve chosen a Product Code from the list above, enter it into the box and tick the “Enable” box. Then click Write.

NSS will update the product code on your phone in a matter of seconds. It should be about 1-2 seconds if I remember correctly.

Once that’s done, install the Nokia Software Updater, run the software and follow the prompts. The software will automatically detect your phone model and the region and after a good long wait will tell you if an update is available. Note! You may need to retry several times before the software finds a compatible firmware!

Finally, follow the prompts to get the firmware loaded on your phone. DO NOT TOUCH YOUR PHONE, USB CABLE, OR ANYTHING NEARBY! Leave the room while waiting for the firmware update to complete. Read a book. Eat a hot dog. Whatever. You do not want to mess something up while upgrading, as this will royally screw up your phone.

After the dust has settled and the NSU has finished updating your phone, you should be in the clear. Congrats, you’ve just gone through a mind-numbing experience.

Troubleshooting Section – updated May 10, 2007

Here’s some problems and solutions that I’ve found after

Help! I can’t get NSS to recognize my Nokia N80!

This seems to be the main problem users are having. NSS is a fickle program, and getting your phone recognized by the program might take some additional steps.

Some things you can try:

Change USB ports – Certain USB ports (usually ports located on the front or the top of your pc) might have problems when your N80 is connected. I personally had a problem with NSS not recognizing my phone (it was plugged into the rear, right-hand USB port) until I switched it to the USB port on the left.

Make sure you choose the “Virtual USB Port” option when prompted and say “No” when asked if you want to install USB drivers at the end of the installation for NSS

If you’re verified everything, install NSS on a different computer and try again from there

My N80 is stuck in offline mode!
I had this problem after messing around with the Nokia flashing software. To fix this eternal Offline Mode problem, fire up NSS and click the Phone Info tab on the top of the program. On the bottom right, you should see “Power Mode” and some radio boxes for “Local”, “Test”, and “Normal” modes. Select “Normal” and click the Change button.

NSS reads my N80 information, but the Read Production Data option doesn’t do anything!
Can’t help you with this….yet. I just experienced this problem on another PC and I’m trying to work it out. Stay tuned!

This troubleshooting guide is a work in progress, so after I get home today I’ll see if I can work out some of the problems.

64 Comments to How-To: Firmware Upgrade Your Nokia N80 to N80ie:

BTW: that are the differences between the EURO omdels ? Does any have a better realplayer ? My n80 was a branded one cause it showed me the latest fim vers as being 4.07… So it was branded althou no network logo on the phone.. The problem is that when i had the branded firmware realplayer could play the m.youtube videos. Now i can’t play any. It just frezzes on the “loading” screen. ( i’m so upset.

Actualy i have changed the code twice on my n80. First fron 4.07 to 5… the latest by using a romania code, and i got romanian t9 predictive input, but 2 days ago i changed the product code again to a euro 3 black pearl or something because my realplayer just wasn’t working on youtube, so i figured i should put a different version. so it works. You can change the product code many times and NSU will think that you just want a re-install.

Well just updated my old N80 software from the UK branded orange to the N80 version 5 software using 0538301 product code. It worked a treat Now i have the added features. Next is to get it unlocked
Thanks for the comprehensive instructions

I’m trying to update my Nokia using the guide.
NSS install works fine, I change the product code from 0528530 (Chile) to 0539648 (Scandinavia).
After enable + write I start NSU but it does’nt detect any updates. I have tried with different product codes without luck.
My firmware version is: 4.0623.0.42

From what I know about firmware updates, the Nokia Software Updater is only supposed to allow you to download firmware that is based off of your product code – so your product code should not be changing as a result. If you’ve already sent your phone in and received it back, you could try changing the product code manually (using the same steps above) to the correct one. At the very least, you may want to double check the product code that is currently on your phone.

Hey guys…
I have a problem with my N95 sort of to do with this blog so i appologise for gate crashing..
My N95 recently developed a fault with wifi and after contacting Nokia, the answer machine i got(it was out of technical help hours!) told me to check for software updates. I did this and there was one available which i downloaded. However!.. This has somehow changed my product code on my phone without actualy fixing my Wifi problem and subsequently invalidated my warranty according to Nokia! I only did what they advised me to do and have never downloaded any other software from the web other than from the Nokia website. They do not believe what i have done is possible but will not listen to me! Any ideas how the product code has been changed on my phone and is it likely Nokia are trying to cover up their own error?.
Your help would be gratefuly appreciated.
Regards,
Michael Roberts

I open my N80 just check hand set speaker and terminal.because sometimes the hand set speaker work sometime no.the hanset speaker and terminal is good.but still the same problem.kindly help me to fix this problem

During the updating process of firmware of my N80 i lost my power. So the update cann’t be completed. After that my Nokia N80 doesn’t display any thing (Actually my N80 doesn’t power on). when i connect my N80 to PC then a message (Your device cann’t be displayed, you mobile might be malfunnctioning). Now is it possible to be repared?

If the NSS gives u error when u try to connect to your phone just uninstall pc suite usb drivers for nokia and nsu and then install older version of the nokia usb driver and not the latest one and it will work!

Oh boy! This is golden. I upgraded my N80 (RM-91) to N80i in a rather brute force way.
NSS would keep giving me read and write errors, so I used Phoenix, Diego and a firmware that I had downloaded off of a torrent site. I recently bought an iPhone, so i was kind of okay with the prospect of killing my N80.
And indeed, I killed it by the time I was done with firmware upgrade.
This is when I started feeling bad about the whole upgrade thing, cuz I used my N80 as my VoIP phone. My phone would never boot now, it would just get stuck at Nokia logo and even the famous “Connecting people handshake” image won’t come up.
I searched a lot of forums, blogs, diggs – you name it. After 14 hours of continuous dicking around, I found a solution – I tried it and BINGO. I got the feeling that I was the happiest guy alive on the face of this earth!!!!
Here’s what I had to do (in case someone who’s reading this in future has similar problem)
1. Take the battery out and wait for like 10-15 seconds (not necessary, but I think it’s probably a good idea to let it power cycle)
2. Press and hold the Green\Call button, 3 number key, and the * key – all together at once – and do not release these keys.
3. Now, while the keys still being held, turn the phone on – yah this was a weird thing to do with my hands\fingers.
4. DO NOT release the three keys, but you can release the power key once phone is on.
5. Voila! You are back in business.

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on Sunday, April 15th, 2007 at 8:26 pm and is filed under Nokia Phone Tips and Tricks.
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